Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
I had been in the line for a few minutes before I noticed Effie sitting at a table in the corner. She had taken off her jacket to reveal a brightly colored top. She had folded her legs underneath her, and strands of hair had escaped and framed her face as she bent in concentration over a book. I watched her for a few minutes before I realized that she was drawing rather than writing. She was completely engrossed in the task. The server handed me my coffee and sandwich, and I made my way over to her table. She looked up without recognizing me for a moment, and then stood up. Her chair scraped noisily backward, and she shoved the book and pencils into her bag, muttered something about getting back to the office, and left. It wasn’t just unlike her usual composed self; it was actually kinda rude. And it had earned me a very contrite apology when I got back to the office. I’d brushed it off, saying I didn’t mean to sneak up on her, but I can’t deny I was pleased to see her search for the right words for once.
Anyway, Effie seemed to have recovered. I had given her my laptop, and she was glued to it now, hopefully learning enough about this virtual reality stuff to get both of us through the afternoon’s meeting. I willed myself to focus. I had quickly printed out everything I could find online about the company, but I could only get ten minutes into it before I got restless and had to make coffee. The time passed in studious silence until a bang at the door from Sean summoned us to the conference room. We both took a deep breath.
As I walked past Sean, he hissed, “Do not screw this up for me.”
“I won’t.” I looked at him seriously, and I could see he meant it. He wanted this, and I had no intention of standing in his way. I had learned early on to choose my battles with him, and this was one I wasn’t going to fight.
The virtual reality entrepreneurs were three young guys, bearded with no socks, and a tendency to high-five each other. They gave us a presentation that incorporated a little dramatic skit that Sean and his pretty assistant – the latest in a long line of robotic graduates – seemed enthralled by, but I looked at my feet, cringing. Then it was time to ‘try out the tech.’ The table was pushed aside, and we were handed these clunky headsets and made to stand in the middle of the room where we were transported into a stunning three-dimensional landscape. I looked around and wished that I could step forward into the lush grasslands ahead of me, take off the headset, and leave the conference room behind. When I did take it off, the gray of the walls, carpet, and furniture felt offensive to my eyes.
“What do you think?” one of the guys, I think his name was Paulo, asked.
“The graphic quality is great!” I said, relieved to be able to say it truthfully.
“I love it!” said Sean. “Everyone here at Clover House is excited about what you guys are doing. We want to invest in new technologies, new ways of bringing gaming to life.”
I watched Effie bite her lip and play with her pen as she read over the notes in front of her. I had a feeling she was less than impressed. The technology was astounding, and I wondered, not for the first time, if anything would impress this woman.
“What did you think, Effie?” I asked her.
“It’s great. It really is,” she answered, not entirely convincingly.
“But?” Sean hovered, his smile becoming wooden.
“It’s unaffordable. For the average household, I mean. But for those who can afford it, it’s great,” she smiled.
“What do you mean?” I asked. She must have known that accessibility and affordability were the constant mantra at Clover House. What was she playing at?
“The retail on the headsets is going to price Clover House’s usual demographic right out of the market. I don’t know anyone who would spend that kind of money on something like this.”
There was an awkward silence, and I scanned my notes to look for figures. She was right. The cost for one of these headsets was over two thousand dollars, and games wouldn’t be cheap. There was an awkward silence. Sean looked at me, and I could see the rage in his eyes.
“Cost is something that we will need to look at, of course, but people will pay for quality. You don’t think the technology is appealing?” he asked Effie, and I willed her to simply agree that it was appealing and then back off.
“It is very appealing. I’m sure most people would love to have a go. But the presentation talked about family gameplay, targeting tech-savvy teens… the headset costs more than some people spend on a vacation. I don’t think many families or teens would be able to afford one, let alone four,” she gestured at the image projected onto the wall, the closing image of the presentation, of four teenagers wearing headsets, laughing together.